How to Perform Incremental Backups of Active Directory

Active Directory is a crucial resource that stores and organizes information about users, computers, and other network components. Thus, it's essential to have a robust backup strategy in place to protect Active Directory from potential risks. Incremental backups capture only the changes made since the last backup, making them faster to run and requiring less storage space. As a result, they are an ideal strategy for backing up Active Directory.

This article introduces two secure methods for performing incremental backups of Active Directory. It also recommends using the reliable and user-friendly tool, Todo Backup, to efficiently accomplish this task.

Windows Server includes an Active Directory backup feature that lets you back it up as part of a Windows Server Backup operation.

As an administrator, it's also highly recommended to protect your Active Directory with a third-party tool. Todo Backup Enterprise offers dedicated features to help you with this backup.

Back up Active Directory by using Windows Server Backup

Before you begin the backup process, make sure the "Windows Server Backup" feature is installed on your computer. If it's not installed, follow these steps: 1. Open Server Manager from the Windows Start menu, and then click on Add Roles and Features.

2. Click Next through the first four steps. When you get to the Features section, select Windows Server Backup, and then click Next. When the process is complete, click Close. Windows is now ready to back up.

3. Open the Server Manager, click Tools in the top right corner, and then open Windows Server Backup. Next, back up Active Directory by following these steps:

4. In the console, click the Local Backup node, and then click Schedule... in the Actions pane. When complete, click Next to continue.

5. Choose the backup configuration. You can choose to back up all server data with Full Server, or select specific volumes and files to back up with Custom.

6. Set the backup schedule. Configure the backup frequency according to your needs. You can choose to back up Active Directory once per day, or set up multiple backups throughout the day. When finished, click Next to continue.

7. Select a save location. When you're done, choose where to save your data and click Next.

8. When you have completed these steps, click Finish to create the backup job.

9. After creating the backup job, click Configure performance settings... to go to the Tune Backup Performance page.

10. Set it to "Faster backup performance", which will speed up the backup process by only tracking changes made since the last backup. Then, click on "OK". This will perform an incremental backup of Active Directory at the specified time.

Perform Incremental Backup of Active Directory with Todo Backup Enterprise

Provides direct backup of Active Directory, making the process of backing up and restoring Active Directory seamless and efficient.

After installing Todo Backup Enterprise on your Windows server, launch the application and follow these steps: 1. Click on New Task in the left navigation bar. From the pop-up options, choose Active Directory. If you wish to change the backup destination, click on Browse....

2. Click on Schedule: Off to set up a scheduled backup task. It can be a one-time, daily, weekly, or monthly schedule. The supported backup types include full backup, incremental backup, and differential backup.

3. When you are satisfied with your settings, click Proceed to start the backup of your Active Directory.

Conclusions

This article serves as a comprehensive guide on how to perform incremental backups of Active Directory. In the process of implementing incremental backups, Todo Backup Enterprise stands out as the preferred tool due to its user-friendly interface, reliability, and cost-effectiveness.

"Frequently Asked Questions about Incremental Backups in Active Directory"

**1. What is the best way to back up Active Directory?** The best way to back up Active Directory is by using Windows Server Backup or a reliable third-party tool like Todo Backup. **2. How often should Active Directory be backed up?** Active Directory should be backed up regularly, with no more than a 60-day interval between backups. The AD service assumes that the age of an Active Directory backup should not exceed the tombstone lifetime of AD objects, which defaults to 60 days. **3. Where should Active Directory backups be stored?** Active Directory backups are typically stored on domain controllers or external storage devices like tapes or disks. The specific location may vary depending on the configuration and backup strategy used by the organization. **4. What type of backup requires more storage space than incremental backups?** In a full backup, all data and files are copied and stored, regardless of whether they have changed since the last backup. This means that full backups take up more space because they contain all data and files, regardless of their current state. Incremental backups only copy and store data and files that have been changed or modified since the last backup. This type of backup requires less storage space compared to a full backup.